This doesn’t mean that an Italian speaker will immediately understand French, but it does mean that knowing another Romance language makes the French learning process easier.

French is a growing global language.

Wherever you go in the world, you’re never far from a French-speaking region. French is spoken across five continents and the language is only growing!

With 130 million total speakers, French today is already one of the most spoken languages in the world. And thanks to the growth of French-speaking African countries, French is one of the most spoken languages of the future.

In fact, with half of French speakers living in Africa and given Africa’s huge economic potential, speaking French will be an asset for the next generation of professionals.

From Proust to Godard, French literature can’t be beat.

Of course you can read “In Search of Lost Time” in English, but translations are never 100 percent faithful to the original. Wouldn’t it be great to curl up with an original Proust, Molière or Baudelaire?

How to Start Learning French from Scratch! 11 Tips for Beginners

Okay, so you’re at your desk and ready to start learning. But where to start?

Especially if you’ve never taken a language class before, you might not have a plan. I’ve outlined a process below that has worked well for me.

Tackling French Grammar

1. Look for “intensive” classes to learn grammar.

I stick to the opinion that, if you’ve never learned a language before, it’s best to take a class to get the grammar basics. You can spend hours memorizing vocabulary, but if you don’t know how to construct sentences, you’re not speaking French.

Fortunately, many classes are available for all schedules and price points. The key is to look for “intensive” courses, which will teach you the foundations of French in a short period of time (and with some hard work on your part!).

They’ll help you build good habits, get comfortable studying French and prepare you for success as you continue to advance in the language on your own.

3. Don’t procrastinate the subjunctive.

It’s possible you’ve never heard of the subjunctive mood before, but it’s very important in French. As its name indicates, the subjunctive is used for “subjective” statements. It’s used to express uncertainty, desire, emotion or anything that isn’t certain.

Basically, whenever you’re saying something in French, think to yourself, “is what I’m saying factual?” This will clue you in as to whether you’ll need the subjunctive.

The subjunctive is rarely considered a beginner French topic, since it sports its own conjugation rules and it isn’t always easy to know when to use it. But the sooner you start learning it, the less foreign and confusing it’ll seem as your French skills advance.

Building Your Vocabulary Database

Once you’ve got a handle on the grammar, you can start filling in the blanks by building up your French vocabulary. Much vocabulary knowledge comes from memorization and practice, but there are some strategies you can employ to make the words stick.

4. French and English share a lot of words! Study up on the cognates.

If you look up a French text right now, you’ll be amazed by how many words you can recognize. I’d say French vocabulary is easier for English speakers to pick up than other learners thanks to cognates, or related words across two languages.

5. Focus on common, relevant vocabulary.

It’s impossible and counterproductive to make lists of every word you don’t recognize. This is why French textbooks are usually organized by theme (home, work, etc.).

Concentrate on learning vocabulary that’s relevant to your day to day life because these are the words you’ll most frequently use.

For most French learners, this will mean learning words for food, common verbs and objects around the house. Vocabulary Stickers is a great tool to get started—these durable stickers let you label more than 100 items in your house with their French translation! That means every time you look out the window, you’ll think, la fenêtre.

6. Get more from each word with FluentU.

So, if you were a robot, we’d just tell you to download a long list of French words and their translations into your hard drive.

But you’re not a robot. Staring at boring word lists just isn’t going to cut it. You need to learn French words in context, the way native speakers use them, if you really want to remember them and use them correctly.

FluentU is your best bet for this type of authentic, entertaining studying. It provides real-world French videos, like movie trailers, funny YouTube clips, news broadcasts and more, that’ve been transformed into language learning experiences.

Click on any word you don’t recognize, and you’ll get an in-context definition, native pronunciation and links to other videos where the word appears. FluentU also creates flashcards and exercises based on each video to make sure you retain the new words you’ve encountered.

Unlike in Spanish, where nouns ending in “o” or “a” give you a clue, in French many words end with the ambiguous “e.” Une chose (a thing), un homme (a man), une femme (a woman), la neige (the snow), etc.

The best way to memorize noun genders is to read constantly, paying close attention to whether nouns are preceded by une/la or un/le. This will help you consistently and efficiently encounter French nouns and their genders, without boring you to death!

However, for this to work, be sure to read activelyso the new words and their genders stick in your mind—highlight words, make flashcards as you read, speak them out loud.

8. Play some cool French vocabulary games!

The internet is full of great vocabulary games and quiz apps for your free time. These are useful for all levels because they let you memorize while having fun. If you’re just starting out, internet games are something you can do in your spare time… it’s a lot more fun and interactive than writing out lists to memorize!

Beginners can get started with french-games.net, an animated vocabulary game resource covering a wide range of word categories.

Understanding and Speaking French Like a Pro

Spoken French is often the most feared aspect of the language. Unlike Spanish, French isn’t pronounced as it’s written. For example, the word endings “é,” “ais,” “ait” and “aient” are all pronounced the same! So with this daunting task of speaking and understanding spoken French, what can you do to reach fluency?

9. Find an excuse to speak French every day… to yourself, in the shower, it doesn’t matter!

I’m always speaking out loud to myself in French.

Maybe you’ll get stares in the street, but accept them with pride! I literally say whatever comes to mind… the point is to speak fluidly and consciously listen to your pronunciation.

You might even record yourself and listen later in the day with a dictionary to catch your mistakes.

10. Look for language exchange partners to get conversation practice.

To test your spoken French, you have to actually speak to someone!

Meetup has French conversation groups in many cities. Often these groups are “language exchanges,” meaning you and a native French speaker will spend part of the time speaking in French and part in English, so you both get practice in.

If you can’t find a group near you, check out Language For Exchange to talk with people all over the world.

11. Have some free time on your hands? Time to go abroad!

This is the final test. The deep end of spoken French.

It’s time to take a vacation to France or another French-speaking region and interact with the locals. Your French will improve amazingly even after a short time abroad if you consciously avoid English (no English-speaking tour groups!).

Charlemagne once said, “to have another language is to possess a second soul.” Learning French opens your mind to a new way of thinking. Not only do you learn the language, you learn the culture, the history. For reasons both personal and economic, learning another language, especially a widely spoken language like French, is one of the best decisions you can make.

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn French with real-world videos.

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